The Marauders
by Isobel Hatchett
Summary: The story of how James, Sirius, Remus and Peter became Animagi and created the Marauders' Map. This story follows my first one, but this happens three years later, so I decided to do two different stories, instead of a load of chapters with a big time hole between them. Rated K for occasional strong language. ABANDONED, PROBABLY FOREVER. sorry.
1. The Dog

**This story happens three years after my first one. James, Sirius and Peter have discovered that to become an Animagi, they must hold a Mandrake leaf in their mouth for a full month, then drink a special potion everyday until transformation occurs. Remus has found out about their plan, as he is the on that brews this particularly complex potion. The boys are in their fifth year and quite a bit has changed : James is now a Quidditch hero and he and Sirius are the popular pranksters of the school.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

James, Sirius and Peter had been drinking their potions every night for the last four months, but there was still no result. None of them had yet turned, and the had started doubting whether they would ever achieve their goal of becoming Animagi. They had asked Professor Mcgonagall how long it had taken her to change, and she had replied that after holding the Mandrake leaf in her mouth for a month, she had only taken her potion for a week before her first transformation. This news increased their doubts, and they son grew tired of trying to guess what animal they would become, and what they would d with their new found abilities.

Meanwhile, Remus still had to undergo his transformations alone - though the boys had found a potion that dulled the pain of it - and he still had to mutilate himself to avoid trying to escape from the Shrieking Shack and passing out his rage on others. After every full moon, he had to spend a day in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey, and although his friends' hopes were slowly dying, they continued to take the potion he made for them, because if there was even the slightest chance it would work, the owed it to Remus to try.

And so, one night in November, it was with fading hope that they went to bed after drinking their horrible brew. James sighed as he got into bed and turned the lights off and falling asleep.

He woke in the middle of the night, feeling what seemed to be a rough tongue licking his face. He opened his eyes and let out a terrified scream, and within seconds the bedroom light was on and James, Peter and Remus stared as a huge black dog rolled on the floor, howling with what seemed to be laughter. It took them a while to realise that Sirius wasn't in his bed.

"Sirius?" James exclaimed, eyes wide open in shock. The dog tried to pull itself together, but failed and collapsed to the ground again, shaking with laughter.

"Sirius, you did it!" Peter cried, jumping up and down with excitement, and soon they were all dancing, Sirius still in his animal form. They partied all night long, their hopes fully restored, thanks to the great black dog that was Sirius.

* * *

The next day at breakfast, the four boys were loudly conversing as usual, exchanging jokes and funny stories with the rest of the table, when a group of Griffindor girls came along.

"Hello, boys. Sleep well?" They giggled

James let out a wide womanizing grin and responded : "Why yes we did thank you!"

"Really? No bad dreams? Because Mary swears it was you who screamed and woke us all up in the middle of the night. What was wrong, Potter? See a spider?"

"My cousin should learn to mind her own business." He said, eyeing a third year stood on the flank of the group.

"So was I right? Was it you James?" She pressed.

"It was indeed. You see, I was having a magnificent dream involving a rather cute Ravenclaw, and out of nowhere, your face pops up! Surely, you can't blame someone for reacting naturally at, the sight of your gruesome face, my dear Mary." The boys at the table roared with laughter and a few high fives were exchanged.

"Piss off, James!"

"Now, now, cousin. Don't make me send a letter to your mother. She did ask me to make sure you were well behaved."

At this, a load of "Ugh"s were heard from the group of girls and they walked away, throwing murderous glances at the boys who had tears rolling down their cheeks, tribute of their amusement. The Gryffindor girls were the only ones in the school that were immune to James and Sirius' charm. Sure, James always managed to win them the Quidditch cup, but the pranks that the other girls found funny and cute only took away points fro Gryffindor House. Even the girls from Slytherin, though they would nevr admit it, all swooned at the duo's feet.

Despite all this attention, James Potter only had eyes for one girl. As the table laughed at the humiliation of the girls, James locked eyes with Lily Evans - who had not taken part in the altercation - and winked. She merely sniffed and continued eating her toast.


	2. Hagrid, Niffler and Snivellus

Peter and James doubled their efforts to make their first change, though there was not much they could do except drink the potion Remus made for them, but it was better that doing nothing while Sirius pranced around barking and leaving hairs all over the place. They wanted to ask Professor Mcgonagall information, but they feared she would guess what they were attempting, and they didn't want anyone knowing yet. After a few days, they accepted that their time would come sooner or later, an James returned hobby of reeking havoc n class with Sirius, while Peter giggled and Remus ignored them.

In History of Magic with the Slytherins, they sniggered and giggled as they enchanted a feather to tickle Severus Snape incessantly, only stopping when Lily threw James a dirty look. They then proceeded to make small objects and insects fly through Professor Binns, a ghost, who didn't notice a thing and continued with his monologue, to the great amusement of the class.

A loud clamour of chairs scraping across the floor echoed in the room as the class was dismissed and they made their way to their next lesson.

"Well that was interesting." Said Remus, without any sarcasm at all. "Don't you agree?"

"Come on Moony, you know we didn't listen." Answered James, reaching for the snitch he kept I his pocket.

"Moony?"

"Yeah, just a little nickname for my favourite werewolf. Thought of it myself. You like it?" Remus and kept walking.

"Free period." Announced Sirius. "What d'you want to do?"

"Can we go and see Hagrid?" Piped Peter. "We haven't seen him in ages."

"Seems like a good idea."

James was too focused on the snitch to join in on the conversation. He'd let it flutter around him and caught it just as it approached the limit of his reach, making the girls giggle as they walked by. He winked at them, causing more giggles.

As the made their way down to Hagrid's hut, James put the snitch away : there was no one to impress down here. The knocked on the door and a loud clatter sounded from inside, along with a roar from Hagrid. The boys rushed inside, wands out, to find the giant running around the small room, chasing some sort of small animal, knocking over half the furniture as he did so.

"NO! Leave it!" He roared. "Come back 'ere yer scoundrel!"

" _Petrificus totallus_." James mumbled, and the creature froze in midair.

"Uh. Heya, boys, it's good ter see yer."

"Hi Hagrid. Is that a niffler?" Asked Remus.

The creature was small and had short, dark grey fur; small, hand-like paws; big - but very cute - eyes, and a long, flat kind ofof beak or snout.

"Yeah. I knew he'd be trouble ter 'andle but he were so cute, I couldn't jus' leave him, so I took 'im in. Was 'opin' he'd find me some treasure."

The boys grinned at Hagrid's naive nature. Nifflers were famous for being more trouble that they were worth, collecting every shiny thing they could possible find, but that had never stopped Hagrid, who was always keeping dangerous beasts. Hagrid put the niffler back in it's cage, where the boys could see it had already started collecting. He then gestured to the boys to take a seat while he brewed some tea.

"Thanks Hagrid. And we brought you some butterbeer from the kitchens." Said Sirius, taking a flask out of his coat.

"Aw, yer shouldn't 'ave. So what brings you 'ere?"

"Nothing special, just came to chat."

"Uh, well I 'ope you ain't missin' any lessons."

They talked and laughed until it was time for the boys to go to class. On their way, they crossed Snape and Lily in a very animated discussion, at which point Sirius shouted : "What's the matter, Snivellus, she finally realised she can do better?" And both Snape and James blushed while Lily simply scowled.

"Sirius, please lay off him." James whispered as they kept walking.

"What? You've never moaned about teasing Snivellus before."

"I do when Evans is there."

"Oh for Merlin's sake, James, just ask her out!"

"And what would be the point if she hates me? No, I've got to woo her first."

"You've been trying that for the last five years, hasn't worked yet."

The two boys kept bickering as they made their way to Charms, and even continued during the lesson. After that dinner and then retreat to the commonroom, where thea joined thea rest of the House.


	3. Moony, Padfoot and Prongs

The boys were having a great time, pranking, joking, and attracting love struck girls. The Griffindors had just won a Quidditch match against the Slytherins and James was making his way to the top of Griffindor tower with his teammates, where the House would be waiting for them to celebrate. Sure enough, when they passed the Fat Lady's panting, cheers erupted from everywhere. The whole House converged around them to congratulate them, even the girls had temporarily forgotten their aversion for James as they squealed with excitement.

Remus had been down to the kitchens and brought back some snacks and butterbeer, while Sirius had snuck into Hogsmeade via the Shrieking Shack to fetch a whole barrel of firewhisky. They turned on loud music and the whole House drank, ate and danced until the early hours of the morning when Professor Mcgonagall came to scold them. The older students had hidden behind the younger ones to hide the fact that they were drunk, after which everyone went to bed.

James and Sirius had to carry Remus up to their room because, underestimating the strength of firewhisky, he had drunk way too much of it.

"I can't believe how drunk Remus is!" giggled Peter, quite rosy cheeked himself.

"I'm not drunk." Mumbled Remus, his head lolling to the side.

"Well, Peter, it's often the quietest that are the most degenerate. And yes you are, Remus." Said Sirius, and the boys giggled as they entered their room.

"'M not!" Remus shouted.

"In that case, can you tell the time?"

"Of course I can't, idiot, it doesn't have any ears, it won't hear me! Time isn't even a real thing, it's just made up by people!"

The boys dropped the poor werewolf on his bed and laughed hysterically. Remus crawled under the quilts fully clothed and mumbled and objection to their hysteria, but they were too busy to hear or acknowledge what he said. When they finally stopped, James sighed.

"Ugh, I'm so dizzy."

"One of the many effects of firewhisky, my friend." Answered Sirius, still giggling occasionally.

"No, it's something else. I feel terrible."

"It's just the alcohol James, you'll feel better tomorrow. Sissy."

A loud snore sounded from Remus' bed and Sirius and Peter started giggling again. James, however, was now clutching his burning stomach, hissing in pain. Suddenly, his face distorted, his eyes grew bigger, his arms longer, and antlers sprouted on his head. In just a second, a stag stood instead of James.

"Yay!" Sirius yelled, clapping. "James did it! You did it my beautiful woodland creature!"

But James, put off with the extra weight and the alcohol, wobbled on his hooves and struggled to stay standing. Seeing this, Peter exclaimed :

"Oh deer." And the two boys were once more on the floor, crying, ignoring James' cries for help.

* * *

A few hours later, James woke to a blinding light shining in his face and Sirius calling "Everybody up!"

Groans erupted from the dorm and James asked :

"What's the matter, Sirius?"

"We need code names." He announced.

"Are you fucking joking?" moaned a still very drunk Remus. "It's four in the morning!"

"I know. So anyway, I was thinking Remus could be Moony, since James already came up with it."

"Fine, whatever. Can we sleep now?"

"Yes, if no one's got any ideas for James and me. We'll find you one when you change, Peter."

"We don't." Said Remus, tucking himself back into bed.

James was just about to fall asleep when he heard Sirius shout "Prongs!" from across the room and more mass groaning erupted.

"Who's that for?"

"You of course. Come on, now. Do me."

"I'll do you, but you won't like it." Muttered Remus.

"Ha ha. Come on, seriously."

James remembered a cartoon character that Lily used to like : "Scooby?"

"What the hell is a Scooby? No, something else."

"Bloody nuisance?" offered Remus, causing James and Peter to scoff.

"Once again, very funny, but no."

"Padfoot?" this one came from Peter, and Sirius immediately yelled :

"YES! Yes that's it. Good work, Peter. Alright, good night everyone."

The three boys sighed with relief as they returned to their soft pillows to finish the night.


	4. Snivellus the weirdo

"Ooohh my God, I feel terrible!" moaned Remus as he woke up. Sirius smirked and handed him a small glass containing a bright blue liquid.

"That'll teach you no to drink so much, Moony."

"Moony? Wha – oh jeez, I thought that was a dream."

"Nope. Come on hurry up, we're late for breakfast."

Remus drunk his potion in one gulp and his head immediately started to clear up, and noises weren't as painful. He thanked Sirius and got dressed, and five minutes later they were in the commonroom. James was already there, talking to Lily with a great smile on his face, but Remus was too far to hear what they were saying.

"Come on, Prongs, we'll miss breakfast. I'm starving!"

Lily looked at her watch and sped off, leaving a disgruntled James alone.

"What's the point in code names if we use them in front of anyone?" he asked as the group made their way towards the Fat Lady's painting.

"Oi, no need to take out your frustrations on us!"

They made their way down to the Great Hall and feasted on a magnificent full English breakfast, before heading to Defence against the Dark Arts, closely followed by Lily. James took a seat next to the red-head, attracting smirks from his friends and a dirty look from Snape, which James decided to ignore. This lesson, he was unusually quiet and studious as he would have to pass his O.W.L.s at the end of the year and he did not wish to fail in his favourite subject. Also, he knew that pranks and jokes were not the way into Lily's heart. That lesson, they were reviewing defensive spells they had already learned.

"Sir, when will we be learning about the Unforgivable Curses?" asked Snape avidly, eyes wide as he waited for the answer.

"Not until your seventh year, Severus" The professor responded, but James could not help but mutter "Freak." under his breath. As if Snivellus didn't already know everything about Dark spells and curses.

"What?" Lily asked, hearing his comment.

"Uh, nothing." James blushed, as she eyed him suspisciouly.

Once the lesson was over, Lily rushed to Care of Magical Creatures while the boys had a free period. And so did Snape.

With a flick of James' wand and a non-verbal spell, Snape was propelled into the air by the ankles. All those around stopped to watch, some laughing, some shocked, as James and Sirius strutted towards the struggling, dangling student.

"What's the matter, Snivellus? Lily not here to save you this time? You're a weirdo, you know that? You make me sick with your obsession for the Dark Arts. Tell me, have you ever actually used them on someone, or is it just show, to go with your ridiculous gothy style? Oh sorry! I forgot. You hexed that Hufflepuff last year, didn't you? Said she was a Mudblood."

Gasps sounded as James pronounce the insulting word, and Sirius continued James' rant :

"You should have been expelled, you know that? Everyone knows it was you and your Slytherin friends, but there was no proof, and Lily vouched for you. What I don't get, Snivellus, is why you spend your time with her if you hate Muggle-borns."

"Let him go, James." Said Remus.

"You don't think he's weird?"

"Of course I do, but this isn't the way to deal with it. This is bullying, and it's wrong. Plus, the teachers could see you. Put him down."

James sighed and put his wand away. Snape shrieked and fell to the floor, two meters below him, flat on his face. The crowd laughed as he got up and wiped the blood from his nose. He shot the boys a murderous glance before running off towards the dungeons, where the Slytherin commonroom was.

"Really, Moony." Sirius looked expectantly at Remus, who simply shrugged and walked away, followed by Peter. The duo could tell Peter didn't agree with their bullying either, but kept his mouth shut. As far as they were concerned, Snivellus deserved it. He had almost killed a Hufflepuff the year before with a spell of his own invention, and from that day, he deserved every bit of torture the boys could do to him.

"Come on, Padfoot, let us bask in the sunlight by the river." Said James jokingly, and Sirius' mood lightened at the sound of his new nick name.


	5. The Shrieking Shack

A few days after the "incident" with Snape, Remus was preparing for the full moon. His heart was beating fast and the potion to dull the pain of the transformation was shaking in his hands. Peter, James and Sirius were all sat with him in silence in their room when James announced :

"It's time to go."

Remus nodded, drank the disgusting contents of the vial and started to walk towards the door.

"What are you doing?" he asked when he noticed that James and Sirius were following him.

"We're coming with you. I thought that was obvious. Was that not obvious?" answered Sirius. "I mean we are two big animals, I think we can manage keeping you company for the night, however beastly you are."

Remus cocked an eyebrow at James, who nodded, and all three of them made their way downstairs, waving goodbye to Peter as they did. Once they had left the building, Remus started shaking uncontrollably and James wrapped his jacket around his head, attempting to keep the moon away for as long as possible, and they hurried towards the Whomping Willow, which was thrashing furiously.

" _Wingardium Leviosa."_ And a stick lifted into the air to strike a gnarled root that stopped the tree immediately, so they could get to the tunnel entrance, located at the base of the tree. They snuck in, careful to avoid unwanted witnesses, and made their way through the dark hole, guided by the light of their wands and careful not to trip. Remus was now having full body spasms, and not a moment too soon, they arrived at the end of the tunnel, where a bare grey room with little furniture waited for them. Remus immediately shrunk to the ground.

"Moony.."

"Change! Now!" he groaned through his teeth and within seconds, the two spectators had been replaced by a giant black dog and an elegant stag, who's antlers almost reached the ceiling. Sirius whimpered as he watched his friend writhing on the floor, claws spurting from his fingers, his teeth becoming significantly sharper and longer, and grey fur growing at an accelerated rate. At this sound, James realised he could understand what Sirius was saying.

 _Sirius? Can you understand me?_ He beugled.

 _Yes!... Oh jeez, he's really in a lot of pain, even after the potion._

Indeed, Remus was now almost fully wolf, but he was still groaning on the floor and blood trickled where he bit his lip to keep the cries in. Finally, his eyes turned red and he growled.

 _Moony? Can you understand us?_ Sirius yipped.

The wolf whipped around, yearning for blood, and leaped at he pair. Prongs managed to catch him with his antlers pin him against the wall, while trying to avoid his snapping, slavering jaws and his hind claws.

 _Moony! Moony it's us! Remember! Remus snap out of it!_ Padfoot growled and yelped. At the sound of Sirius' voice, the wolf pricked his ears and peered down, as if only recognising the pair now. He growled, clearly asking James to release him, and he did. Moony's breath had slowed and his bloodshot eyes no longer looked enraged, but curious.

 _How come we understand each other?_

 _Don't know, we just discovered that ourselves._ Answered James.

They settled down on the floor, Remus was surprised to see that he didn't feel the need to rip flesh, as he was conversing with his friends in animal form. After an hour of pointless discussions, Sirius yawned and suggested they head down to Hogsmeade to explore. This caused a growl to form in Remus' throat.

 _Are you stupid, Padfoot? You want to go explore a village at night with a werewolf?_

 _It was just a suggestion._

 _Well make less stupid suggestions!_

 _Jeez, Moony, werewolf you is a lot more snappy. I prefer you as a human._

 _Yeah, so do all my potential victims._

The great dog heaved a sigh, _Fine, we won't explore the village, we know it by heart anyway. But we're not going to stay here all night like a bunch of old ladies! Let's at least explore the house! Prongs and I have never been here before._

Seeing no objection, Remus agreed and the trio went to explore the three story house. Sirius, not being used to his canine vision, kept bumping into things and James kept catching his antlers on the old flaky wood beams. The boys explored until dawn, when Remus collapsed and began to transform. After a few seconds, a naked and very human Moony was laying on the floor, a sight that didn't fail to make the remaining animals laugh.

"Shut up, how do you think you're going to be once you change back?"

This shut them up and they made their way back to the first room, bumping on the same obstacles as before, to find that their clothes had indeed fallen off their bodies when they had transformed, without them noticing. Hurriedly and blushing furiously, the three boys got dressed and returned to the castle in time to get a few hours' sleep before having to go to any classes.


	6. Beatings and Wormtail

It was the Christmas holidays and James was at home with his parents, eating dinner and telling them all about the beginning of his year, leaving out the fact that he and Sirius had successfully become Animagi. His father roared with laughter at the pranks that they played on other students and teachers while his mother tutted, but she could not hide the amused glint in her face. He had left Hogwarts three days earlier, along with most of the other students, and had kept in touch with all of his friends, even Lily. Sirius and Peter incessantly teased him about his feelings for Lily, as well as giving him news about their families. Sirius was still disgusted by, his family, but they had agreed that they would lave him alone as long as he stayed with them every holiday. After all, the noble house of Black couldn't have people thinking their own son didn't want to spend time with them, even if it was true. Unfortunately, they used as many loopholes as they could, commenting negatively about him to Regulus as if Sirius was not in the room, throwing dirty looks at him, and tutting every time he walked past.

James gave his concerned parents news about Sirius, and they were as horrified as he was at the treatment he received from the people that should love him the most. It was after this delightful conversation that James cleared up the table and went up to his room, which was decorated with the Gryffindor flag and drawing of snitches and the boys in their Animagi form. He sat down on his puffy chair and listened to music while doodling a picture of Lily. It took him quite a while to notice that a dog was barking non stop, just outside his window. Frowning, he approached the frame and looked outside, to see a big black dog he recognised as Sirius in his garden.

He rapidly opened the window and addressed the dog, who he knew would understand him and had now stopped barking.

"What the hell, Sirius? What are you doing here?" more barking ensued. "Ok, OK, shut up! How long do you plan on staying here? One bark for the night, two for a few days, and three for the whole holidays." Three barks. "OK, one minute. Come round front." He whispered before closing the window and rushing downstairs.

"Hey, can Sirius stay for a while, I think he left his place and needs a place to stay?" he asked his parents, who were doing the dishes.

"Of course he can. Frankly I'm surprised he lasted three days." Responded his father.

James thanked them and rushed to open the door.

"Siriu – shit. Mum! Help!" Sirius, now in human form, had fallen into his arms, battered and bleeding. James' mother came speeding through the corridor, gasped at the sight of the teenager, and helped him to the living room, where she sat him on the couch. He had obviously been badly beaten, with a black eye, a busted nose, a busted lip and probably more.

"Jesus, what the hell happened to you?" James' mother, who happened to be a healer, exclaimed.

"Parents. Specially my dad." Sirius gasped.

"One minute, you'll be better in one minute, just hold on."

She rushed around the house, gathering her wand and various potions to ease pain and mend broken bones, then administered them to the boy, who immediately sighed with relief.

"Tell me what happened." She ordered.

"My mother started insulting me to Reg, and I just snapped. I told her to shut her mouth and that she was a terrible person and I'd make sure everyone knew. And my dad told me not to threaten my dear mother and go to my room. I didn't, so he hit me and didn't stop."

"Well you can stay here as long as you like, you never have to go back there. As long as you keep your promise and spread the word." She finished, smirking.

Once he had eaten, he followed James up to his room, to find a second bed next to the first that James' dad had magically summoned. He lurked around, investigating the room.

"Did you draw these?" he asked, gesturing to the drawings on the wall. "HoHo! And what is this?" he snatched up James' sketch of Lily, ignoring the artist's protests. "Well this is a bit sad. Really James? You've sunk down to drawing your crush? What, were planning on practicing kissing it?"

The boys wrestled over the drawing, screaming and laughing, pulling hair and biting until they were too exhausted to even move. Panting, they lay on the floor, the ripped image of Lily beside them.

* * *

The next morning, Sirius awoke to the sound of an owl tapping against the window, and found himself in a bed much comfier than he was used to. He then remembered the events of the previous day, but the bird was still tapping at the window. Sirius rose and retraced James' steps from yesterday, but only wearing his underwear. He opened the window and the owl flew inside, hitting Sirius in the face with it's wing. Sirius noticed there were two letters attached to the bird : one addressed to him, the other to James.

"James, wake up you lazy git"

James groaned and a few minutes later he was out of bed and both were dressed. They opened their letters and found out they were the same, and happened to be from Peter. James read out loud :

" _James! I did it! I made sure I drank the potion that Remus gave me before the holidays every night and it worked! This morning I woke up and I was a rat! Can you believe it? I'm finally an Animagus! Hope everything's ok on your end, speak soon."_

This was great news. Now all four of them could go roam the nights with Moony during full moons. Sirius immediately wrote back a reply :

" _Peter, congrats! We're really happy for you and just a bit sad we couldn't see it. Now you get your own nickname : I, Sirius Black, dub thee, Peter Pettigrew, Wormtail, as a tribute to his new Animagi abilities. Yaaaay *crowds cheering, women crying*. As for me, I'm fine, I'm living with James until school starts again (don't ask), he's fine too, everything's great. Kisses XXOXOXO"_

James scoffed as he read, and they quickly sent it away. They couldn't wait to see him transform at school.


	7. Truce

James and Sirius spent their holidays caught up between fun and work, which Sirius had to do by borrowing his friend's school things, since his were at his parents' house. They frequently exchanged owls with Remus, Peter and Lily, who all sent them Christmas presents (James blushing furiously as he opened Lily's) and enquired about how their studies were going. The duo, being the jokers of the group, hadn't gotten nearly as much work done as the others had, and their last few days were spent panicking and reading Remus' old notes, which he had had copied and sent over.

When the time came for them to return to school, Sirius had to return to his house collect his supplies, escorted by the whole Potter family. The two families stood at the entrance of the dark and gloomy house, eyeing each other while Sirius quickly packed his trunk. He then rushed downstairs, eager to get out of the house and headed towards the door without even glancing at his parents. He was called back by his mother however, and clenching his teeth, went to stand in front of her, his head held high. She stared at him for a moment, deep disgust in her eyes, before finally speaking :

"You will spend Easter at the Potter's, but you come back here at summer. Understand?"

"I understand, mother, that you don't want to be near me as much as I don't want to be near you and this godforsaken family. I hope you understand the joy this fills me with." He answered, and without another word, he turned towards the smirking Potters and walked out the door.

They left, hardly containing their laughs, and sped away in their car towards King's Cross train station, where the boys would be taking the Hogwarts Express back to school, along with most of the other students. The family pushed around the Muggles that were crowding the station, until finally the arrived at the wall. They ran through it without any problems, to emerge on the other equally packed side. After saying their goodbyes, the two students went to find themselves a compartment and saved it for their friends, who quickly joined them.

As soon as they closed the door and curtains, they urged Peter to transform into his Animagi form, who, shaking with excitement, disappeared to show a plump grey rat in his place. The boys laughed and congratulated him as he showed off, dancing and jumping around. At that moment, Lily walked in and the boys bustled to hide the rat. She looked at them suspiciously as they sniggered at their situation, before sighing and sitting down.

"Where's Peter?" she asked.

"Uh... toilet." Lied Remus, still standing awkwardly.

"Aren't you going to sit down?"

The boys reluctantly did as they were told, and Lily screamed, finally seeing the rat, who ran out of the cabin.

"Was that a rat?"

"I think so... Jesus, I always thought this train was free of rodents!"

"Shut up, Sirius, I'm not stupid. Why were you hiding it?"

"We weren't!" defended James, before quickly changing the subject. "Where's Snape, anyway."

"He stayed at school. You know, you shouldn't bully him so much, he has enough of that over the summers."

"Well, he's weird, I can't help but have a little play with him whenever I see him. Must be the hair." Joked Sirius, attracting disapproving glances from Remus and James.

"What do you mean? About the summer bit?" asked Prongs.

"Well he... His family aren't very loving. You should relate to that, Sirius." The boy blushed, "His dad's an alcoholic and Sev needs those spells to keep him from beating his mother. And him."

The boys stared in horror as they imagined Snape trying to fend of the giant they had seen drop him off in September. He was a Muggle, but he was strong and they imagined it would take at least two stunning spells to keep him down until he had sobered up.

"They'll lay of him, Lily, I'll make sure of it." Affirmed Remus.

"No need to threaten us Remus." Said James, then he turned to the red-head. "We'll leave him alone."

Lily smiled in return and they changed the subject, passing onto more laughable matters, when Peter came to join them, now fully human. The boys exchanged amused glances at the memory of Lily walking in while rat Peter was prancing around. Before long, they were inside the castle, making their way to the Great Hall, where Lily ran to join Severus.

The boys followed slowly, Sirius quite reluctant, and planted themselves in front of the greasy boy, who looked at them with fear in his eyes but his head held high. James smirked and held out his hand for Snape to shake.

"Truce." He said simply.

Severus looked wide-eyed at Lily, who nodded, and he took his hand and shook i firmly.


	8. Secret Passageways

A week after school had started again, it was the full moon. This time, Peter accompanied his friends and they set off early. Remus hadn't let out so much as a shudder when Peter, always searching for an excuse to become a rat, transformed and ran to the base of the Whomping Willow, dodging all of it's battering branches thanks to his small size, and struck the root with his tiny paws. They snuck into the tunnel, and once inside the Shrieking Shack, Sirius and James transformed too, while Remus dank the double portion of potion that he had prepared earlier. A few minutes later, his own transformation started and he began to tremble uncontrollably.

Peter, seeing this transformation for the first time, squeaked and hid his face, not wanting to watch his friend's warm eyes become red and bloodshot. After a long ten minutes, he was given the all clear by James, and opened his eyes to discover a massive grey wolf, tongue lolling out and head tilted to the side playfully. He didn't look like a blood thirsty beast at all.

The group sat down and begun to talk, already having explored the Shack. They discussed their upcoming O.W.L.s and their chances of passing every one, and were all comfortable to say that they were confident, even James and Sirius, who never did their homework or studied but still managed to be the best in their year, along with Remus and Lily. They discussed what Lily had told them about Snape on the train, feeling somewhat guilty about the hard times they had made him endure, but before long, all the possible topics had been used, including Quidditch and girls, so Peter set off to explore the creaking house by himself. After almost an hour, he was back, squeaking excitedly abut all the cracks in the walls he had been able to squeeze into.

 _Professor Dumbledore was really kind to have that passage built for you, Moony. It must have taken ages!_

 _Apparently, it was already here before. I think the founders built it._

At this, Prongs and Padfoot looked at each other expectantly.

 _What?_ Asked Remus.

 _Are you telling us that this is a secret passageway, built over a thousand years ago by the founders of this magnificent school, that leads to one of the houses in Hogsmeade?_

 _Um... Yes? Why?_

Sirius started barking excitedly, running in circles and jumping up and down. _Do you know what this means? There could be loads more! Imagine it! Secret passageways that only we would know about that lead out of the school!_

James and Peter had also started dancing around the room, making the floor groan dangerously.

 _Stop! The floor is going to cave in you idiots. And Prongs, you'll break your antlers if they keep banging against the ceiling. I agree that it sounds quite exciting, but we've got enough on our minds this year with our O.W.L.s, plus, this school his huge, and the point of secret passageways are that they're hidden. How do expect to find them?_

 _Well now we're Animagi, we can go pretty much anywhere without being detected, let alone be recognised!_

 _Wormtail, we're not all Animagi. I can only change during the full moon, and I'm not going anywhere near people when I'm like this._

 _You can use my invisibility cloak!_ Argued James. _You don't even have to join in if you don't want to, just don't stop us or tell anyone what we're up to._

 _So, you'll be having all the fun while I just keep secrets? No way, if you're doing this, so am I!_

 _So you agree?_ Yipped Sirius.

Remus nodded and they all jumped on him, cheering. He fell under the weight of James and Sirius and giggled when the pitter-patter of Peter's small paws running over him tickled.

* * *

 **Hey, sorry this chapter's a bit short, but I'll catch up on the next chapters, which should be great. Don't forget to leave reviews, they really make my day! xoxo**


	9. Sectumsempra and Dissendium

There was a loud clatter as everyone sat down and took out their cauldrons and potions books, then silence as they waited for Professor Slughorn to speak.

"Happy Valentine's Day, my dears!" some girls giggled while the boys all groaned. "Today's a special day that celebrates love, and where would we be without love? That in mind, please turn to page 274 for the instructions to make Rosaria. Can anyone tell me what Rosaria is?"

Almost half the girls in the class raised their hands, as did Remus. It was Lily, however, who was chosen to answer the question :

"It's a particularly strong love potion that was illegal until 13 years ago, due to the fact that some people became unhealthily obsessed with the subject of their feelings."

"Yes indeed! Very good explanation, 10 points to Gryffindor. Now, read the instructions carefully before starting on the potion, and do keep in mind that this is a very popular choice for the O.W.L.s."

James read and reread the instructions before preparing the ingredients. It seemed quite simple, the only complicated part being the way they mixed them in, and before long, he was crushing up rose petals and emptying vanilla stems into the bright red liquid in his cauldron. He stirred everything in three times counterclockwise before adding rosewater, and stirring again clockwise until it became a very pale pink. By the end of the lesson, he had achieved the baby pink coloured potion and the light blue steam that was wanted and won another 10 points for his House.

"Now, the final ingredient, which we won't be adding, is a hair from the person you want the object of love to be, just like the polyjuice potion." Finished the professor, before asking them all to bottle up a sample for him and dismissing them. James was last to leave the room, as his desk had been the messiest, and hurried away to his next lesson.

On the way, he passed a deserted corridor, where he heard shouting.

"You're pathetic, you know that? I'm a very patient person, but you! You always manage to piss me off, whatever you do! You're a weirdo! Those spells you learn aren't for your dad, their so you can fit in with you psycho little Slytherin friends."

"Don't talk about my family! You know nothing and you never will, so shut up!" James recognised Snape's voice and was surprised to hear the shy boy shout.

"I know a lot! I know your mum's a witch, and she could fend off your deadbeat of a dad without you any day! You make me sick, using your disgusting father as an excuse to learn dangerous curses! You – "

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" Snape roared, and a gurgled scream followed.

James rushed around the corner and found Severus standing over a Hufflepuff third year with his wand out. She, on the other hand, was on the ground, shaking with spasms as she bled from several deep cuts across her face and body. James ran to her side and tried to reassure her, while Snape just stared.

"Help! Someone help!" a loud crack sounded and a house elf was standing beside him. "Take this girl to Madam Pomfrey and tell her Severus Snape did it."

With a short nod, the elf bent over the girl and the both disappeared.

"Are you mad?" Snape cried. "What if I get expelled?"

At this, James stood up and punched him straight in the face, sending him falling to the ground, holding his broken, bleeding nose.

"That's all you deserve, you shitbag! We've lain off you since Christmas because we pitied you, but if you're going to use those spells to hurt other students, then you don't deserve anyone's pity, especially Lily's! I hard what that girl said and I'm watching you, Snivellus." He spat, making Snape run away, still clutching his nose.

James sighed and proceeded to clean the blood on the floor, before something caught his eye. There was a statue in a dark corner that he had never seen before. He approached it and found it was attached to the wall behind it. It was quite ugly, really, but James couldn't take his eyes off it. He then noticed some writing on the bottom, in very small characters and covered in dust. He wiped it clean before he read :

"Dissendium?"

At the sound of his voice, the statue detached itself from the wall, leaving enough space for James to put his fingers behind it. He pulled and discovered a hole in the wall, just big enough to fit a person. By the light of his wand, he entered a few paces and discovered that the hole kept going.

"Holy shit." He whispered, realising that he had just found a secret passageway. He sped off, careful to close it properly until he could come back with the cloak and his friends.


	10. April Fool's

The boys were all sitting on the ground, in a circle, whispering excitedly. Even Remus was giddy at the prospect of what they were plotting.

"OK, so tomorrow's April Fool's." He giggled. "We need to plan everything. Make a list of people we want to prank, and the pranks we're going to do. The only things off limits are injuring people and making poor girls think you love them." He aimed this last comment to Sirius, who grinned at the memories.

"I got a shitload of dungbombs at Zonko's last time we were in Hogsmeade. I want to make Filch cry!" Sirius cackled. "I also got some samples of this." He pulled a small flask containing a pale pink liquid from his pocket.

"What's that?" asked James.

"Really, Prongs, you don't even recognise your own work? This, my brilliant friend, is the Rosaria you made on Valentine's in Potions. We collect some hairs tomorrow at breakfast, then slip it into people's drinks at lunch, and voila!"

The whole group giggled at the thought.

"OK, and Wormtail, you need to find a small passage to get into the girls' room. Remus will teach you a spell that'll make their whole room literally turn upside down. You'll do that tomorrow."

"What if there are still some girls there?"

"I hardly think they'll be there for long once they see a rat."

They continued planning until past two o'clock, when Sirius gave his dungbombs to James, who disappeared under his invisibility cloak, after winking mischievously

He returned half an hour to find his friends in bed, but very much awake.

"How'd it go?" fussed Remus.

"Swimmingly! The Baron needed a bit of persuading though."

"I can't wait to see Filch's face tomorrow."

"Moony! You're supposed to be the sensible one remember?" scolded Sirius.

"Oh not tonight Sirius. All hell broke loose almost three hours ago."

"Tomorrow's going to be epic." Peter whispered before they all turned in for the night.

* * *

The next day at breakfast, the group couldn't hide their faces as Sirius collected hairs and put them away neatly in individual flasks, not bothering to label them because "what would be the fun in knowing?"

Peter arrived shortly after a large group of Gryffindor girls that were all shaking, and grinned at the boys to show them everything had gone well. They had started an animated conversation when they were interrupted.

"POTTER!" screeched Lily, who was standing at the entrance of the Great Hall wearing a bathrobe, her wet hair clamped to her face. Nobody dared laugh as she strode towards the boys, who were trembling, trying not to laugh.. "What the hell did you do to my room?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Maybe the fact that EVERYTHING'S UPSIDE DOWN"

At this point the boys could no longer contain their laughter.

"I'm sorry, I didn't do that, but I sure as hell pity the buggar that did."

"Stop lying! I know you did it!"

"Come on Lily, you know I could never come up with magic like that."

"Tell me how to reverse it!"

"I don't know. I don't!"

"My clothes are up there! As well as my school things!"

Remus, who was quite tall, decided to go and help her, but came back saying he managed to get her things, but unfortunately couldn't figure out how to reverse the spell.

They then had Potions with Professor Slughorn, who jumped every time someone raised their hand, clearly dreading all the possible pranks. It was during that lesson that they heard Filch screaming :

"PEEVES! Peeves, come here! PEEVES, I SWEAR – AAAAAAH"

Once again, the boys were on the floor laughing. The poltergeist, armed with Sirius' dungbombs, had set out to destroy the castle, then bombarded the caretaker with the stinky missiles once he approached.

"Bloody Baron! Help me!" they heard, followed by :

"I'm sorry, Filch, you're on your own today."

After that, they had free period, which Sirius used to finish the love potions, while James executed his next prank.

The whole class of first years screamed as a stag broke into their classroom, eyes open in fear and running around the class. The professor tried to calm the children while he attempted to catch the deer, ending up chasing the animal around the class. After a few minutes, James jumped through the window of the ground floor classroom, spraying it's occupants of glass shards that he had charmed the previous night, so that no one would get hurt.

He returned to the dorm to fetch Sirius so they could go to lunch. No one noticed as they discretely spiked some people's drinks, not knowing who would love who, before going to sit. A few minutes later, James repeatedly hit Sirius' arm and groaned in excitement as he saw one of their subjects, Lloyd Parkinson, get up. He walked up to George Goodmann of Hufflepuff and after a few seconds, George got up and yelled :

"I told you, I'm not gay, now piss off! If this is some sort of prank, you're just making yourself look bad." And, stormed out, closely followed by Lloyd who was pleading with him.

Once again, the boys were crying of laughter, holding their ribs and choking on air.

"How long does this last?" managed Remus.

"Given the amount I put in, I'd say about six hours."

"Amazing!"

And indeed, for the rest of the day, they cried as they watched people chasing after others, declaring their undying love to them. The teachers could do nothing about it.


End file.
